Maverick filmmaker and actor Orson Welles, director of what many consider to be the greatest film of all time, Citizen Kane, is the subject of this symposium in celebration of his centenary. Family members and colleagues, scholars, archivists, and students come together to discuss his lasting impact and showcase the five Welles archive collections housed at U-M Library in Special Collections. All symposium sessions are free and open to the public.
Monday, June 8
1:00 p.m. -- Introductory and Opening Remarks
Introductory remarks by SAC Associate Professor Matthew Solomon, whose direction of the students in SAC 330 culminated in the Orson Welles: Beyond the Canon and into the Archives exhibit. Opening remarks by Catherine Benamou, Associate Professor in Film and Media Studies at University of California, Irvine, who was instrumental in the acquisition of various Welles materials by U-M Library.
1:30 p.m. -- Donors & the Archive: Christopher Wilson
Christopher Wilson, who donated his father's, Richard Wilson's, papers to U-M, will discuss his father's longtime friendship and professional relationship with Welles and his own relationship with his father. SAC alumni A. Brad Schwartz and Vince Longo will moderate this session.
3:00 p.m. -- Donors & the Archive: Oja Kodar
Oja Kodar shares her memories of her life with Orson Welles and the importance of creating an archive dedicated to his work. Eliot Wilhelm, curator of film and video at the Detroit Institute of Arts, will moderate this session.
4:30 p.m. -- Rededication Ceremony
A celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Orson Welles-Oja Kodar Collection and the Richard Wilson-Orson Welles Collection
Tuesday, June 9
10:00 a.m. -- Scholarship & the Archive
This panel, consisting of two generations of scholars, presents work that originated from research done within the various Welles collections at U-M Library. SAC Associate Professor Matthew Soloman will moderate this session. Panelists include Catherine Benamou, associate professor, University of California-Irvine; James Naremore, professor emeritus, Indiana University; A. Brad Schwartz, historian and author; and Vince Longo, PhD student, U-M Screen Arts & Cultures.
2:30 p.m. -- Scholarship & the Archive
This panel discusses how the legacy of Orson Welles has been shaped in various media thirty years after his death. U-M Professor of English Language and Literature Lawrence Goldstein will moderate this session. Panelists include Chuck Workman, filmmaker; Jonathan Rosenbaum, critic and author; Stefan Droessler, curator, Munich Film Museum; Sidney Gottlieb, professor, Sacred Heart University; Filip Jan Rymsza, producer, restoration of The Other Side of the Wind; and Issa Clubb, producer, Criterion Collection (via Skype).
Thank you to the following groups for your generous support of this event: the SAC Screenwriting Program; the College of LS&A; the Department of American Culture; the Department of English Language and Literature; the American Music Institute, the School of Music, Theater, & Dance; the Institute for the Humanities; Rackham Graduate School; and the University of Michigan Office of Research.
